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what are braxton hicks?

its common to get BH contractions this early, but if you feel four or more in an hour you should call your doc! good luck hon. if you are worried call your doc anyway to ease your mind.

Question. . . How do I know if im having BH? Every strange thing I feel in my lower tummy I wonder if its BH. I push on my stomach to see if my uterus is hard but I can't tell what I'm feeling. I don't if I'm touching my muscle or abdomen wall or whatever. Maybe I should not worry about it and I will just know when it happens?

Whitney-it is not uncommon to get BH contractions at this stage at all. In fact, many women start getting them at 12 weeks. I have read that the uterus starts to contract earlier than that, you just can't feel it. I agree with Heather in that if you are getting them more regularly like 4-5 in an hour than you should definitely call your doctor. I would also say that if you are concerned about any symptom you are experiencing, it is better to put a quick call into your doctor than to continue to worry about it. Shopping-I would guess that it is probably different for every woman but when I felt my BH contraction it felt like almost my whole belly tensed up and kind of balled up in the middle and when I touched it, it felt very hard. It stayed like that for like 30 seconds and then went back to normal. It was not painful for me at all, although I have heard that it can be for some women. Even though this is my 1st pregnancy, I have read about BH contractions and I could tell that is what I was experiencing. So when you get one, you will probably know it.

I just wanted to jump in here. Shopping!! How are you!? WIth me, I can feel them coming. My uterus will tense up and can be felt hard from the outside. I am one of the ones that get them uncomfortably. They dont realy hurt just feels tight and uncomfortable. Also dont know if it is related but after I get one, the LO gets active for a few minutes after. If they are bothering you try switching positions and/or drinking some water. For me that usually makes them go away.

Hey Jen! I'm good! How are you?!

I'm on my 2nd pregnancy too and started having them this time at 16 weeks. It freaked me out at first too, because with my first it was only in the last few weeks of the pregnancy. There was even one particularly stressful when I started having them every 5 minutes for the whole day. My dr wasn't in so I went to the ER, and everything was fine so I went home, although they told me it was impossible for me to be having BH that early. When I finally saw my OB she told me that yes, it is normal, and not to worry even if I am having lots. They won't bring on labour at this stage, they're just uncomfortable. She said to sit and have some water, if they continue and get stronger then go to the ER.

Oh how smart for them to tell you it's impossible to have bh at 16 weeks. My ultrasound tech monitored the ones I was having at 17 weeks and was the one who let me know I was having them. I get the ALL the time. If I'm on my feet or out and about they're worse, on my days off or when I'm resting I just have a few. It's worse if I have to use the bathroom at all because it puts so much pressure on my bladder. I've been told to go to the bathroom, drink a couple cups of water, and lay on my left side and rest if they start to bother me. What I feel when I have them is my stomach tightening up (lower part of my uterus will get hard) and pressure, pretty uncomfortable for me! Make sure you're getting plenty of water too, because even the slightest bit of dehydration can cause them to get worse.

Very normal. I am 20.5 weeks and have been getting them since I was about 13.5 weeks. I did research and they say you actually start getting them at 6 weeks but it depends on your size and so on to when you will start feeling them from the inside and out.

Wow these comments have helped me a lot! I'm sixteen weeks along and have been having them as well. This is my third child and I never remembered having them this early in either of the first two. Thank you ladies I feel much better! Blessings..